10 Day Cape Town to Addo Tour

Guests are met on arrival at Cape Town International Airport or at another pre-arranged location in the city. First on the agenda is Table Mountain, arguably Africa’s most famous natural landmark. From the mountain’s summit, reached by revolving cable car, you can enjoy one of the world’s most impressive city and ocean views while your guide introduces the history and geology of this iconic plateau.

After exploring the well-marked walking paths on top of the mountain, you descend and continue to the world-renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Home to around 4,000 of South Africa’s 18,000 plant species, the garden showcases the richness of Cape flora. Highlights include a stroll along the Boomslang Canopy Walkway and time to appreciate the diverse fynbos and landscaped beds that frame the eastern slopes of Table Mountain.

Today’s touring follows the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive, carved into the steep mountainside high above the Atlantic. The road leads through the coastal village of Noordhoek to the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park. This botanically rich reserve is home to antelope, baboons and prolific birdlife, all set against dramatic cliffs, wind-twisted fynbos and crashing surf.

A walk up to the old lighthouse at Cape Point rewards you with sweeping ocean vistas and a sense of the maritime history that made this cape so famous. On the return journey to Cape Town, the route traces the shores of False Bay and includes a visit to Boulders Beach. Here, enormous granite boulders shelter a colony of endangered African penguins that can be viewed at close range from boardwalks above the sand.

Shortly after breakfast, you set out for the Cape Winelands and the village of Franschhoek, nestled in one of the region’s most scenic valleys. Founded by French Huguenot settlers in the late seventeenth century, the town still reflects its heritage in its architecture, cuisine and vineyards. There is time to stroll through the village and visit the Huguenot Memorial and museum, framed by manicured gardens and mountain backdrops.

The rest of the day focuses on wine tasting at a selection of estates in the valley, chosen by your guide according to your interests. You can sample crisp Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc along with classic reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Merlot. Cellar tours and vineyard walks help explain how the valley’s climate and soils contribute to the distinctive character of its wines before you return to Cape Town in the late afternoon.

Leaving Cape Town behind, you cross Sir Lowry’s Pass with sweeping views back over False Bay before descending into the fertile valleys around Grabouw, South Africa’s primary apple-growing region. The route then continues via the rural town of Napier to De Hoop Nature Reserve, part of the Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site and one of the country’s most important coastal conservation areas.

After check-in and lunch, there is time to relax before an afternoon game drive in the reserve. The outing offers excellent chances to encounter eland, bontebok, Cape mountain zebra, baboons and prolific birdlife while enjoying wide views over dunes, limestone hills and wetlands. Later, you board a boat for an eco-cruise on De Hoop Vlei, a Ramsar-listed wetland that has recorded around 260 bird species, from pelicans and flamingos to a variety of ducks and waders.

This morning you join an interpretive marine walk led by a local guide and timed to coincide with low tide. After a short walk over the dunes, you reach the intertidal zone, where rocky platforms and pools shelter an array of marine life. Limpets, sea cucumbers, anemones, barnacles, sea urchins and colorful seaweeds provide fascinating examples of how organisms adapt to the harsh meeting place of land and sea.

During whale season, typically June to November, the dune crest also offers an excellent vantage point for scanning for southern right whales offshore. After the walk, the tour departs De Hoop and travels inland via Swellendam, set beneath the Langeberg Mountains, before joining the national highway toward the Garden Route. By late afternoon you arrive in Knysna and have time at leisure around the waterfront near your hotel.

After breakfast, you board a ferry across the Knysna Lagoon to the privately owned Featherbed Nature Reserve on the Western Head. This 150-hectare reserve protects coastal forest, fynbos and dramatic cliffs above the lagoon mouth, where many ships came to grief during Knysna’s timber-exporting days. A tractor-drawn 4x4 vehicle carries you to a high lookout point with panoramic views over the lagoon, town and Indian Ocean.

From the summit, a guided walk of about two kilometers winds down through milkwood forest and fynbos, with your guide pointing out endemic plants, birdlife and (with luck) the tiny blue duiker antelope and the striking Knysna turaco, known locally as the loerie. After returning by ferry and enjoying lunch, the afternoon is spent exploring some of Knysna’s highlights, including Leisure Isle and viewpoints on the Eastern Head.

After an early breakfast, you follow the Garden Route eastward into the indigenous forests of Tsitsikamma. A stop is made at the Big Tree, a magnificent yellowwood estimated to be several centuries old and towering above the surrounding canopy. Continuing to the Storms River mouth, you are greeted by powerful Indian Ocean swells crashing against the rocky coastline and the forested ravine carved by the river.

A short forest walk leads to the suspension bridge spanning the mouth of the Storms River, where you can feel the ocean beneath your feet and admire the steep cliffs on either side. Those seeking a longer outing can extend the walk along trails that climb to elevated viewpoints over the coast. From Tsitsikamma, the route continues past Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) before turning inland to Addo Elephant National Park, where a late-afternoon game drive introduces you to this renowned Big Five reserve.

Over the next two days you enjoy unhurried morning and afternoon game drives in Addo Elephant National Park with your private guide. Created in 1931 to protect the last remaining elephants in the area, Addo has grown into one of South Africa’s finest wildlife reserves and now supports large herds of elephant, healthy Cape buffalo populations and a variety of antelope. Predators like lion and spotted hyena also occur here, and thoughtful guiding focuses on reading tracks, explaining animal behavior and positioning the vehicle for relaxed viewing and photography.

Between game drives there is time to unwind at camp, watch animals drift to and from the waterholes and visit viewpoints that overlook the spekboom-covered hills and valleys that characterize this Eastern Cape landscape. Addo forms part of a broader conservation initiative that extends to the coast and is promoted as home to the “Big 7”, adding southern right whales and great white sharks offshore to the classic Big Five on land. Birders are rewarded with a rich variety of species, while clear night skies and the sounds of the bush provide a fitting backdrop to evenings spent around the campfire.

An early start sees you set out on a final game drive in Addo, making the most of the cool morning hours when wildlife is at its most active. With luck, you may watch elephants drinking and socializing at a waterhole, see warthogs foraging in the open and enjoy last views of the rugged hills and valleys that have become familiar over the past few days.

After returning to camp for a relaxed breakfast and check-out, you drive back through the farmland of the Sundays River Valley to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) Airport. Your guide assists with check-in for the short flight to Cape Town, where the formal guiding service concludes. As you take off, you can reflect on a memorable holiday that has combined city highlights, coastal landscapes and rewarding wildlife encounters.